On May 4, 2013, I will be participating in Ultimate Hike, a 28.3 mile hike benefiting CureSearch for Children's Cancer. My goal is to not only complete this very long hike in one day, but also help raise awareness and $2500 in funds for CureSearch.

CureSearch for Children's Cancer, a National Childhood Cancer Foundation, funds and supports targeted and innovative children's cancer research with measurable results, and is the authoritative source of information and resources for all those affected by children's cancer. CureSearch funds both local and national research, ensuring that a cure will be found as quickly as possible.

I have decided to take this challenge for a number of reasons. I want the opportunity to help give back to those affected by cancer as well as improve my life and fitness. Part of what I hope to accomplish other than raising funds for children in need is becoming part of a community and pushing my boundaries.

I plan on completing the 28.3 miles completely in my Vibram Five Fingers and while many people are advising me against it, I just don't see myself doing it without them. It is going to take a lot of building my feet up, but I am more than confident I will be able to do so. If you are able to donate to my fundraising that would be great. If not that will be fine, too. What I would love to get out of this, is the opportunity to share my journey with others. There is nothing more powerful and exhilarating than a sense of community for a great cause. If you are interested in joining me on my minimalist journey please let me know as soon as possible (we have already started our first training session). If you would like to help follow and share me and my cause you can do so at 10littlepiggies.tumblr.com.

Jason ("Ardent" on the forums) sent in the above photo of his slightly muddied red and black Vibram fivefinger Sprints*. Jason's been regularly running in his Sprints now since early this year. Here is what he had to say about the experience:

At the time this pic was taken (feb) I was converting from ordinary run shoes to vffs alternating from one shoe to the other and slowly increasing the amount of runs in the vffs. I now only run in vffs. Road, pavement, fields, paths, tracks, whatever. However, back in Feb we had snow, to be fair it was melting at this point but plenty undisturbed in the fields. Looking at the sole of sprints tells you there is going to be minimal grip when it comes to snow, mud and sludge. I was right. I set off along a bridal path and was skittling about like bambi on ice and having a great time. The thing I always remember was the thought of the expression on peoples faces that followed. All these seemingly barefoot footprints.

Even though I had been running through snow my feet where strangely warm (wet suit effect). The sprints were only this clean as crossed a stream shortly before the end of the run. I have gone on to clock over 220 miles in the sprints. Done the Prestwold 10k in June, caused many double takes afterwards.

Jason regularly blogs about his training pursuits, including those in his VFF Sprints at his blog here. Thanks for sharing, Jason!

Received the above photos of Mark taken at various places in Norway (Top to bottom: a fjord on the island of Tustna, on the top of Jørenvågsalen, and on the top of Fjellstua). Here's what Mark had to say:

I have enclosed some pictures of me in my five fingers KSO's taken during my trip to Norway this summer. (Fjell is Norwegian for mountain). I wore them for most of the time, including climbing two peaks of nearly 3,000 feet, canoeing, and trekking through forests. They handled everything well, although it would have been nice to have a pair of the new treks for the mountain descents...the thin KSO sole did mean I had to tread extra carefully so as not to bruise my feet on the way down. All in all I was very impressed with them as an outdoor shoe, it confirmed what I already suspected - these things are brilliant!

The three photos are:

- Near the boat houses on the fjord on the island of Tustna

- On top of Jørenvågsalen, the second highest mountain on Tustna

- On top of Fjellstua, a small mountain overlooking the city of Ålesund

I had a few converstions with my parkour instructor Rafe Kelley, during which I realized I had to re-teach myself how to walk and run correctly. Rafe is well-versed in natural human movement due to his background in MovNat, gymnastics, martial arts, strength training, parkour and anthropology. Modern shoes allow us to walk and run in a way that our bodies did not evolve to tolerate. The padding in shoes allows us to take large steps, in which we overshoot our center of gravity and contact the ground in a jarring manner. It also allows us to strike with our heels when we run, which is not comfortable when you're barefoot.

The beauty of these shoes is that they essentially allow you to run barefoot without the hassle of dodging thorns, shards of glass and other vagaries that render true barefoot running impractical. There is also no doubt about the effects of a bad foot strike as the pain is immediate but after a few minutes you find the sweet spot and from there you could basically run all day.

Finally, for an ongoing discussion on pre-orders and general ordering of the new Vibram fivefinger models, see this forum discussion!

———end of notes and updates———

I'm excited to announce that John over at Kayak Shed is now taking pre-orders for the Vibram FiveFingers KSO Trek, the FiveFingers Moc, and the FiveFingers Performa!

These three new models are the latest fivefingers designs from Vibram. Each was created to address specific requests from fivefinger users. Specifically:

the Vibram Five Fingers KSO Trek

click either pic for a larger version

The KSO Trek employs the most aggressive Vibram fivefingers sole yet, 4mm of stone-bruising protective EVA midsole, and a tear/sweat/bacteria-resistant kangaroo leather upper to make for the most rugged and durable answer to trail running, hiking, cold-exposure and general outdoor use yet — all while "keeping stuff out."

the Vibram fivefingers Moc

click either pic for a larger version

The Vibram fivefingers Moc is a male-specific VFF that utilizes seven distinctive Vibram rubber pods (with the heel, ball, and each toe receiving their own individualized sole) all while providing the flexibility, tear resistance, breathability, and comfort of kangaroo leather. The Moc is the closest thing to a true "foot glove" yet. Finally, the Moc has a slightly higher front lip (or "vamp") making them quite the svelte men's VFF. Could someone get these and wear them to a black-tie event already?

The ultra-flexible Moc is intended for use indoors — yoga, martial arts, weight-lifting, CrossFit, James Bond-like espionage, etc. You can see my unboxing and first look at the five fingers Moc here.

The Moc is available in blue and black and retails for $109.99. The Moc effectively sizes the same as the Classics.

the Vibram fivefingers Performa

click either pic for a larger version

The Vibram fivefingers Performa is a women's specific "foot glove" like the VFF Moc. It employs the seven-part podded Vibram sole technology whereby the heel, midfoot, and each toe gets its own, individualized "sole" and the entire casing of the Performa is constructed of kangaroo leather. The primary difference is aesthetic: the Performa has the more typical VFF design with a lower arching front lip (or "vamp") as opposed to the higher vamp of the Moc.

And they simply look rad.

The Performa is an indoor-specific fivefingers model which can be used for any indoor activity under the sun — including yoga, martial arts, pilates, weight-lifting, and CrossFit, just to name a few.

The fivefingers Performa is available in coral, violet, or black and retails at $109.99. The Performa sizes the same as Classic fivefingers.

Lynn emailed in about hitting a personal record (PR) on the recent Rock'N'Roll Chicago half-marathon, the first he's completed wearing his Vibram blue camo fivefinger KSOs. Lynn said:

This was my fifth ½ marathon this year and the first in my VFF’s. This was also my PR for this distance. The time for the other four ½ marathons (all in shod) were: 1:52, 1:51, 1:54, 1:57 (run the day after the 1:54 ½ marathon). I ran this one in 1:47 which beat my previous PR for this distance by more than a minute.

This photo was taken around mile 3 which was in the Chicago loop. The last half of the race takes place along the lakefront. The bibs indicate the starting corral you were assigned. I was assigned the 4th corral. The guy behind me was assigned the 3rd corral and I beat him by over 10 minutes (not that I checked).

My DW doesn’t think it’s the VFF’s. She thinks it’s my conditioning. I think my conditioning is because I’ve been converting over to running in the VFF’s for the last four months.

Congratulations on reaching a new PR, and I think I'm going to take your side — it's gotta be the improved running technique afforded by the near-barefoot running of VFFs!

birthdayshoes [about] is dedicated to feet, which is to say barefeet, or feet as they were designed to be—unshod and free! As a way to foster foot freedom, birthday shoes is spreading the word about toe shoes — Vibram Five Fingers — the ground-breaking "barefoot shoes" or "foot gloves" that allow wearers to roam the earth as [Your Belief System] intended. Free your feet!

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